State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said that metro Hinesville continues to recover from the impact of Hurricane Irma.
Metro Hinesville preliminarily posted 20,500 jobs, unchanged from September. However, in the past 12 months, jobs in the city are up by 300. The job growth has come in the private sector’s service industries, such as trade, transportation and warehousing. Local government has added 100 jobs.

“September was not a typical month for the Georgia coast,” Butler said. “The area has rebounded strongly from the effects of the storm. That shows a resilient economy.”

In October, the total number of employed residents declined by 232 to 31,763. However, there are 891 more Hinesville residents employed now than in October 2016.

At the same time, metro Hinesville’s labor force, which includes the total number of residents with jobs and those unemployed but looking for work, declined to 33,337, down by 212 in October. The labor force is up by 512 since October 2016.

Unemployment claims were down by 17.6 percent to 210. Claims were down in several industries including, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, and health care and social assistance. Claims were up by 19.3 percent from 176 in October 2016.
Butler said that in October the unemployment rate was 4.7 percent, up from 4.6 percent in September. The October rate compares favorably to last October when the rate was 5.9 percent.